Newark’s ICE fight still escalating — and Delaney Hall is at the center of it

☑️Democrats criticized conditions at the Delaney Hall ICE facility

☑️Witnesses described civil rights concerns and claims of abuse

☑️Supporters of the detention center called the hearing a political stunt

NEWARK— Congressional Democrats on Wednesday hosted a forum on the Delaney Hall detention facility that focused on poor conditions with repeated calls to shut it down.

The event came more than three weeks since the privately owned detention facility started making national headlines after Democratic leaders and anti-ICE protesters brought new attention to it.

The Committee on Homeland Security Democrats, which includes U.S. Reps. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J. 10th District, Analilia Mejia, D-N.J. 11th District, and Nellie Pou, D-N.J. 9th District, held the meeting in the basement of Newark City Hall. Among the scheduled witnesses was Mayor Ras Baraka, who discussed the city's lawsuit to close the privately owned facility.

"We are trying to expand our lawsuit with the help of the state to include not just code enforcement issues, not just UCC violations of human rights and the violation of human welfare," Baraka said.

Army veteran Adam Marshall recounted his arrest a month ago for carrying bear mace, a claim he denies.

“New Jersey’s human trafficking laws have been flouted by DHS. The constitutional protections against illegal search and seizure, the right to due process, and the right to a speedy trial simply do not apply at 451 Doremus Ave.," Marshall told the congresswomen.

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Republicans, Homeland Security defend Delaney Hall operations

Following the hearing, Homeland Security spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Politico there are “NO subprime conditions or abuse at Delaney Hall.”

"This hearing is nothing more than a political stunt by sanctuary politicians for fundraising clicks," Bis said. "They should be thanking ICE law enforcement for removing murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and drug traffickers from their communities."

The agency's X account mocked that there were only 95 people watching the hearing on the online stream.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J. 2nd District, criticized the forum as “another attempt to push a political narrative, demonize ICE, and mislead the public” and praised the facility as clean and well-run based upon what he saw during his visit.

Members of Congress who went to visit the ICE detention facility said they were not allowed to speak with detainees unless they gave prior approval. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the committee's ranking member who ran the forum, told Politico that conditions were “spic and span” because they knew the members were coming.

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